The night before the Kiddo's birthday, while he was spending the evening with his dad, I set about decorating our apartment. Nothing big, just having fun with crepe paper streamers and bows. Following each of my siblings and my births (home births) my mother would tie blue or pink bows on our front porch to announce to the world our arrival. Since I didn't get the chance following the Kiddo's birth, I took the opportunity to do so now even though my bow tying skills simply cannot compare to my mother's.
Streamers in the doorway always seemed to be rather magical as a child and I hoped it would provide a bit of fun for the Kiddo.
I REALLY thought I blew up more balloons than that!
And of course, I had a small cluster of gifts waiting for him,
with the BIG surprise being his new bike.
I picked the Kiddo up in the morning and we headed off to the aquarium.
He thought the fish were kinda cool.
Although, they didn't captivate his attention for very long -
-especially once he discovered the interactive displays!
The Amazon.... get it? Wah wah wahhhhhhhh. Yeah, lame, I know.
We made it over to the very popular penguin exhibit-
-only to find that the buttons that produced frog sounds next to the penguin exhibit was MUCH more interesting
We were only half way through the day but he was exhausted!
I tried my best to carry him into the house and put him to bed, but when he saw the presents and decorations, nap time was OVER!
I had stashed the bike in my room in hopes that I could set up a photo op when he came out of his room, but when I tried to get him to stay in it while I brought the bike out, he thought I was punishing him and started bawling and saying, "I'm sorry Mama!" Heartbreaking! THAT one didn't go as planned! If you can see the little bit of red in his eyes, that's why.
The trauma was soon forgotten as he took his bike for it's maiden voyage around our parking lot.
After getting his fill, we came inside and made his birthday cupcakes. Kiddo took the opportunity to man the camera.
He did a VERY good job of carefully helping!
We learned a few things this year:
1.) Kiddo couldn't care less about fish and penguins when there are buttons to be pushed.
2.) Mama should just go with the flow instead of trying to set up photo ops.
3.) It's really hard to blow out a candle when you're laughing really hard.
4.) The great thing about a 2-person birthday party is that you can keep relighting the candle as many times as you want (providing the candle still has wax left)!
It's so hard to believe that it was 4 years ago today that this little man entered my life. He's the sweetest, most loving little soul and I'm so blessed to be given the opportunity to mother him. I've never been worried about the years slipping by. I've known since day one that I was raising an adult rather than a child, but I will forever cherish the moments I spend with him while he's my darling little boy. Oh how I love this little one! He fills me with more happiness than I can contain.
Mom Jar = Overflowing
I love you Kiddo!
